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Tools and resources to empower those with chronic pain and illness to embrace uncertainty and live all-out in spite of their limits.
  • About Page – Welcome

    Welcome to Functionalish

    My name is Lorie Kaufman Rees, and my daughter Keira and I have spent the last ten years learning what it means to live in the tension between what our hearts and minds know we are capable of and what our bodies will actually allow. That tension was the catalyst, in the midst of great uncertainty, to begin exploring what it meant to live #allout in spite of our limits.

Because we dare to believe that life can be hard AND good at the same time.

  • What is Functionalish?

    Living with a chronic condition can generate great uncertainty about one’s identity, calling, worth, and future. Functionalish is a resource created to empower women (and men!) with chronic pain and illness to develop a sense of identity and worth that is fixed upon neither their accomplishments NOR their illness—and learn to live with confidence and conviction in spite of their limitations.

     

    Because we believe sick people can still have a meaningful life and do significant things.

    About Page – Functionalish

authenticity*    inspiration*    persistence*    community*    health*   

 

This is our promise to you: that we will be honest with ourselves and our readers. That we encourage our readers and impart hope that we CAN live our lives all-out. That we will aim for consistency yet give ourselves the grace to keep moving forward at whatever pace is necessary.

Because we believe we all benefit from knowing we’re not alone. And that by accepting the things we cannot change about our bodies and committing to changing the things WE CAN, we can be our best possible selves in the moments we’re given.

 

The principles we value most. We hope you do, too.

  • A little bit about me

    It may come as a shock to you (because it sure did to ME!) but working for almost twenty-five years as a counselor and most recently as a pastor does not fully prepare you for all you experience when you receive a boatload of diagnoses after a decade or two (or four) of chronic pain and illness.

    Nor does it completely prepare you for having your CHILD receive even MORE….

    My Bio

  • A little bit about Keira

    I was about 11 years old when I started having headaches, body pain, and general fatigue. We initially thought it was a virus, then thought it was simply puberty. But as time went on it became apparent something was legitimately wrong with me.

    By the start of 9th grade the headaches began to interfere with my ability to read and concentrate. My joints and muscles began to ache and I noticed I was frequently overwhelmed by exhaustion. My symptoms continued to worsen and by the end of the first quarter of my freshman year I had missed over 30 days of school.

    And that was just the beginning….

    Keira's Bio

Join my daughter and I as we search for and live out the true purpose for which we were designed.

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Let’s make some dreams
come true together.

Contact Us
A reminder—while I’ve been a counselor for twenty-five years, I am not your counselor, and nothing I write here should take the place of the help of your own mental health professional.  Nor am I a physician, and the same caution applies.  Nothing within our little slice of the web should be considered psychological or medical advice and should not replace consultation with your counselor or physician.